" I would like to live in the same soil as my ancestors, and walk under their trees, and do what they did, and think their thoughts. " - Elizabeth Lawrence. After 4 decades in Sweet Home Chicago I moved to North Carolina where my first Irish ancestor landed in the early 1700's. I'm an artist, garden designer and grandma blogging about my life in this " Southern part of Heaven " as Chapel HIll is called.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

First GBBD in North Carolina

A great big HEY Y'ALL from North Carolina where the question for my first garden bloggers' bloomday is : What's NOT in bloom ? I have been amazed by Camellias blooming in January, Star Magnolias in February and now in March the Forsythias, Quince, Redbuds and Bradford pears, to name a few. I am enjoying, as many of you are, one of the mildest winters on record. Chicago broke four records in one week with the mildest temperatures ever for the dates - 80 degrees in March !

The garden center has been opened for business since March 1 and of course stopped by to see what was in bloom there. This stunning Camellia immediately caught my eye. I have a fondness for Camellias as they are the state flower of my home state, Alabama.

Camellia R. L. Wheeler

Then I spied a beautiful evergreen in bloom and was astonished to discover that it was a Viburnum. I have never seen one before and I think its great that when not in bloom it provides a beautiful evergreen background of shiny, leathery leaves.

I know its early and I may be sorry but I purchased some hardy perennials, herbs and lettuce for my deck garden.

Rosemary, Parsley and Mesclun

Hardy perennials : Licorice Plant, Coreopsis and
Salvia

I will add colorful annuals to my containers as they become available. My exposure is full hot sun so I couldn't plant the colorful pansies so abundant at the garden center because I know they'll fry .

As you may be able to see in the above photos I live at the edge of a forest. The leaves of the mature trees have already started to green up and soon the beautiful dogwoods there will be in full bloom.

Happy GBBD to all. Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming all over the USA.

Hi, my first visit to your blog, congratulations on your first GBBD :-)I have a lovely evergreen viburnum in my garden, Viburnum 'Eskimo', it produces white snowball flowers in spring and is green all year round. It tolerates down to -15C. And I also have a lovely camellia in flower, come for a stroll in my garden if you like!

i'm a life-long alabamian, 7 or 8 generations on both sides of the family, who moved to the midwest 3 years ago.

i have been re-learning gardening here...but, have to say this is a great place to grow things!!! winters might be hard, but my 5b zone, colunbus, indiana weather is almost perfect spring, summer & fall.

i do miss my camelias...we lived in an old home in alabama where the original owners not only loved camelias , but propagated originals. we had them blooming from november through march.

Hey Nanne and thanks for visiting. Alabama will always be near and dear to my heart as my childhood home and the home of my ancestors for many generations as well. Although I loved Chicago, I did not like the brutal winters which seem to last more than 6 months.